Ballet For Brains

Once America's prima ballerina, Eva Topica now navigates a fallen world where her only companion is the monster on the end of her chain: her brother, Eric, lost to the plague. Clinging to a whispered rumor of a cure, she drags this dangerous secret across a nation ruled by the savage and the dead.

Her grace, once meant for the stage, is now a weapon for survival. But as she fights to protect the last of her family, Eva is torn between the gilded life she knew and the new twisted freedom she didn't ask for. Raiders, fortresses, romance and old open wounds. To save Eric, Eva must find a new kind of balance-not for a perfect pirouette, but between hope and survival, love and letting go.

"We should have left him," Andy said, his voice flat. "I told you. Attachments are a liability. Hope is a four-letter word."

"He has a name!" I shrieked, lunging for him.

Andy caught my wrists, his grip like iron. "You don't get to be fragile now, Princess. A dozen kids are dead and your brother is just another one of them. We need to move on."

Suddenly, Enzo was between us, shoving Andy back. "Enough!" he roared, his French accent thick with fury. "Look at her! Can't you see she's breaking? Have you no heart?"

"Hearts are a luxury we can't afford!" Andy shot back. "While you two are having your little emotional breakdown, the things that ate those kids are still out there."